back in the office

Well, we returned from the desert relatively unscathed.

It was good. How about a Tuesday Hall Ranch Ride? 6pm at the bike shop. Don't expect to go to fast, though. Melis is out o' town and I am whooped. More on that later!

Desert Details

Thursday - Leave early. Meet at the bike shop (optimistically) at 7am. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to roll out by 7:45. Drive to Moab and find a camp spot on Sand Flats across from Slickrock. Set up camp and ride somewhere. After ride, eat, party.

Friday - ride all day. We'll be waiting on some Friday arrivals so we'll head out around 10. The ride is yet tbd. After ride, get back, eat, pack up camp and drive to Fruita. Set up camp in Rabbit Valley. Party.

Saturday - all day ride from camp. Get back, eat, maybe ride some more. eat. party.

Sunday. Get up and pack up camp. Roll out, hit Marys Loop stuff or 18rd on the way out o' town. Drive home. Tired.

If anyone wants to hook up for all or part, call the shop phone 303.823.5810. It forwards to my mobile.

back in black

No Thursday Special this week. In fact, Redstone will be closed this weekend, too. It's time for a trip to the desert, so expect some updates next week! We've got a big ol' posse going.
Without further ado... That's one good looking Intense Spider!

Heil

Continuing my North Boulder County Foothills trail tour, I stopped in at Heil today. Conditions are very good there as well, bordering on dry.

I sampled some Wild Turkey while I was out. It needs to age a bit more, but it's mighty tasty already.

Lefthand Good News/Bad News

I was up at Lefthand OHV tonight, and it was as perfect as that place gets. Carnage Canyon is about 90% dry, 9% wet, 1% sloppy. I went up that, up Fireman, down the singletrack to the right back to the Jeep.

Good news is that the closure notices are down from the Jamestown fire. I didn't have time to climb up to where the fence was, hopefully its gone, and if it is that opens up miles of doubletrack.

Bad news is that the printed new maps that show Carnage Canyon, but describe it as being closed. If you want to ride it you might want to do it soon before signage and or fencing closes it down.

Kerry from Longmont stopped in for some water this weekend. His bike was so cool I had to snap a couple of pictures. How about that friction shifting Suntour Cyclone? Pauls front and rear brakes. The package was complete with a Brooks saddle and shellacked cork tape. If it had lugs, Grant Peterson would be pround. Check out Kogswell if you're looking for a good all rounder and don't mind 650b tires!

I got out on Sunday, too. Rode Hall on the 6.6. Man, this winter has been tough on the old man here. I've been riding Hall on the Turner Flux, but that Intense 6.6 is a different beast entirely. The extra 2.75" of squish and extra 4 pounds definitely took a toll on me going up thru the rock garden. I'm a tired boy.

Anyone up for a Tour de Hall on Tuesday? Let's meet up at 6pm at the bike shop.

Golden

Headed down Golden way for a chance of pace this morning. Spring has sprung, the trails were excellent, and the capper was heading to the local beer store only to find the Dale's grill fired up with beercan chicken and Scottish Eggs - a mighty fine lunch!

New On One Inbred 29er

Allegedly scheduled for late April arrival. Pricing yet to be determined.

Reportedly, the ladybug is even included with the completes!

Thursday Special, 3/15

Beware the Ides of March. The Thursday Special is upon us!

15% off introductory price on all Transition frames or completes! We have Covert frames in stock/on the way for inventory and will bring in others as needed. Email me, dave@redstonecyclery.com for the scoop!

Bicycling Magazine

Keep your eyes open for an upcoming issue of Bicycling magazine where there will be an article about Tyler Hamilton. Our very own local Dr Finnoff will be featured as he was interviewed for the article. If you don't know, Greg is a doctor and was a medical advisor on Hamilton's defense team. Should be interesting.

Tuesday Ride Recap

Tuesday started great, but I knew I was in for trouble when Doperssuck showed up with the legendary Nick Martin. Nick's a good guy, a respectable fellow midwesterner, so you know he's good. Damn fast, too. The ride started off fast out of the gate. As soon as we got to the Hall Ranch parking lot, it was all systems go. I was pushing a tough gear just to hang on going up the frontside of Hall Ranch. Thankfully, we ran into some folks we know going up, so it gave me a good excuse to regroup with the rest of the gang. After regrouping, we rolled over the top past the bench and on to the backside of Hall. The big snowbank by the Antelope junction that I had to hike thru on Saturday was barely existant, but not without incident. Another rider on a Mav forked Ellsworth was going the other way and expressed, "Hmm, riding Hall Ranch at night is ILLEGAL, Hmmmm." Yep, sure is. I thought of the irony that he mentioned this as we were at exactly the same point on the trail. We kept going.

Once climbing again past the Antelope junction, Melis the Man started setting tempo on his SS and I was off the back before we made it up to the loop. Those guys rode the loop, but I pussed out. I had stopped a couple of times to bs with folks riding the trail so I opted out of the loop (which, by the way, is reportedely ok rideable shape). Luckily, I had just run into MK_ on his way down. He kept me company whilst I installed my light (for the road ride home, of course) and waited for the rest of the gang. We ripped it up on the descent and made it out before dark.

For what it's worth, if the Ellsworth policeman is reading this, we made it down to the parking lot safely without use of lights, and there were still a dozen other cars there :). Sorry to burst your authoritative bubble, occifer.

We escorted Nick and Doperssuck out of town (they still had to ride home to Boulder) and hightailed it to Oscars. The Dale's Pale tasted especially good, as did the luscious pesto burger. Yum.

Next week, same time, same place. See you there!

The Transition has Begun

Covert operations to commence shortly. Transition Bikes now at the Stone.

Tuesday Night Ride 6pm, 3/13

See you at the shop at 6pm! We can ride from there or go to Neva Rd. I heard it's totally dry now. It might be a good idea to bring a light in either case...

Why is it

that it hurts twice as much when you grind a scab off your knee as it does when you scrape off regular old skin? Hall claimed the same knee it feasted on Wednesday, and this one hurt twice as much even though it was only about half the wound size.






Sure is great weather today!

Sorry but had to say something...

I know this a waste of valuable web space and completely unrelated to cycling but I just read an article about Courtney Love.

You know you've hit rock bottom when a rehab center sues you for an upaid bill.

Rabbit Mountain

So I rode Rabbit Mountain last week. Trail was in great shape overall with the exception of the north side. It has been a few days since so It should be totally dry by now.

Here a couple of photos from the cell phone. I especially like the one that I took inside my pocket. Its a framer.

Boulder Cup

Check it out - "The Boulder Cup" television program, a 30 minute recap show of the cyclocross race last fall in Boulder will air on ALTITUDE(MT):
Saturday 3/10 11:30 AM
Thursday 3/15 2:30 PM
Monday 3/19 10:00 AM
Thursday 3/22 3:30 PM
Thursday 3/29 3:30 PM

cool stuff - cm

Warranty

MIGZ & I made it out for a shortened night ride last evening. On a great night with the stars & moon above we had the event cut a bit short. MIGZ massive wattage snapped his Raceface drive side crank arm right off. I approached the scene quite surprised to notice him holding his bike & the crank arm with pedal laying on the rocks. He was able to limp that baby home with one leg. For his work he received a beer & an introduction to my whiskey drinking roommate in his Irish best.

We should have known it would be an eventful evening as a precursor to our ride Debaser came stumbling in brandishing wounds from his ride. Word is a full on over the bars experience, nice work!

dopers suck, right?

Make sure to wear your dopers suck shirts if you go...

from bicycle retailer...

"Floyd Landis to Make Appearance at Colorado Bike Shop MARCH 07, 2007 -- BROOMFIELD, CO (BRAIN)--Floyd Landis will make an appearance at Bicycle Village's Westminster location on Sunday, March 11, 3-6 p.m., for a town hall style Q&A meeting. The public will have the opportunity to meet Landis and hear from him on the progress of the case to clear his name of doping charges.Proceeds from the event will go to the Floyd Fairness Fund (FFF), which assists Landis with his legal fees. There will also be a free autograph session and silent auction.Admission is $35 per person. To RSVP, call (303) 421-4001 or email landis@ssv.net. For more information, visit www.bicyclevillage.com. "

frorider's Intense Uzzi VPX

In Java, no less. Just looking at this bike makes me drool about riding in the forest. Intense Uzzi VPX, Rock Shox Totem (in the sweet new galvanized finish). Damn.

Happy Birthday to Redstone's Fearless Leader

trail conditions

Boulder County Open Space has entered the new millenium of the world wide web. Because this year has had such hectic weather, in order to prevent local trails from getting too beat down, Boulder County has created a public trail conditions page. Check on the Boulder County website for relatively frequently updated trail conditions. Of course, the Front Range bulletin board of mtbr works well, too.

Looks like we'll be experiencing some decent weather this week. Let's do another round of Boulder Valley Ranch fun on Tuesday. Meetup at the shop at 6:30 and we'll shoot to be at the Neva trailhead around 7. Next Tues, the 13th, we'll be back to daylight rides from the shop at 6! I have no idea what will be dry, but we'll exploit whatever we can by light of day. finally!

Thursday Special, and welcome to March

Is it March that's in like a Lion and out like a lamb? Looks like the end o March will be swell. I'm glad I got out on dirt 4 times last week, too. It looks as if it may be another spell of no dirt after the recent stormy weather.

How about some Avid BB7's for only $60/wheel? I have one set left, 160mm front and rear.

email me - dave@redstonecyclery.com if this brakeset needs to be on your bike!

Oh, the desert trip is coming up, too! March 22-25. 2 days in Moab and 2 days in Fruita is the very loosely based tentative plan. Give me a shout if you want to caravan out with us!

sight for sore eyes

I don't know which was easier on the eyes. Real dirt or the rock garden of Hall Ranch. It was good to get out and revisit both. The front side of Hall is bone dry up to the top bench. After that, once the trail visits the north facing slopes, it is still very sloppy. I turned around before I got into it. Still, despite the short ride, I was on the rigid ss, so I felt pretty worked.

Apparently, I didn't hurt enough after climbing and descending the rock garden with one gear, so I went looking for more pain. A visit to Heil Valley Ranch was just the ticket. I had good beta that the trail was 100% rideable, so I took off early, early in the morning to get 'er done. It was terrific. I was the only person at the park this morning. Zero cars in the lot when I arrived and zero cars in the lot when I left. I saw no one. The 29er SS On One Inbred was perfect. Heil was suprisingly single-able on a 32x18 gear. I did have one dab, but that's mostly because I was a little tired and my aim was off :). Not like all the walking I had to do in the rock garden...

To say that Heil is dried out for the season would be an overstatement, though. It's 100% rideable, but part of that includes riding over some hella snow drifts that are now firm, glaciated ice/snow. Once it warms up a bit more, it's going to be muddy. Enjoy it when it's good!

Sooo, Tuesday ride at Boulder Valley Ranch? Locals meet up at the shop at 6:30 so we can be at the Neva Rd trailhead by 7?

a good day

The snow has not melted but I gotta say it was a good day, I was on the bike.

H. P. D.

High...

Plains...

Drifter...

You know he is a drifter!

New trail at Marsall Mesa is good.

GT Peace9r

Redstone got a batch of the GT Peace9r's in yesterday, happily mine was one of them. I got that baby together quickly to join Chris for my first Single Speed & 29" ride at hall ranch, my first ride there in too long. I gotta say, for the price this bike has already earned it's worth in smiles. Chris & I rode to the bench before we ran into some mud & decided to turn back for the trails sake. I was pretty stoked to ride the Peace9r through most sections on the way up, the thing rolls really well. Again on the way down the ride really impressed me as Chris & I ripped our way back to Lyons, both happy to be getting time on the dirt. I'm a 29 believer. As a matter of fact, I was so stoked I stopped home to huck down a piece of pizza before heading to Redstone to catch the crew at Boulder Valler Ranch for round 2. Single speeds where the call of the day & a good sized group all headed out in search of dirt. It was a great day & good times, can you say gateway drug.?.? More details to come.

Peace9r,

cm

Thursday Special, 2/22

Thursday Special - Dirty Dog brake rotors. Available in 160, 185, and 203mm. All kinds of different flavors. Check them out at www.dirtydogmtb.com. $60 for 160mm, $70 for 185, and $75 for 203mm. Get some extra style points with these. Email dave@redstonecyclery.com to be part of the brake rotor style revolution.

Hey, great ride tonight, too. The Boulder Valley Ranch trails were totally dry except for a few small spots here and there. Perfect for singlespeeds. See you all out there next week!

Wednesday Ride!

Is that a Burrito in your hand or are you just happy to see me?

I'm just happy to ride on dirt! Reports are that Boulder Valley Ranch is finally dry so be there or... well, just be there. We're meeting up at the shop at 6:30pm wed to caravan down there. I imagine we'll be at the Neva Rd trailhead around 7pm. Singlespeeds will be the weapons of choice for most, methinks. Doesn't matter, though. Just bring what you brung and come ride some dirt!

And in other news - fantastic news from Boulder County Open Space today! Since the Town of Lyons estimates it will be April of 2008 before they figure out what to do with a trailhead at Bohn park, Open Space has decided to open the connector trail from Heil Ranch to Red Gulch Rd before Town of Lyons get's the trailhead built. That is the best news I've heard in a while. Now, we'll get the Wild Turkey trail done at Heil, then it's full speed ahead north to Lyons!

Howdy, time for the weekend update. For starters, Chad and Chris came over to the shop Sat afternoon around 4. We donned the lamps and rolled out to the cowboy (aka True Grit) and headed south on dirt. Having lamps helped us to keep going way after dark. We ended up turning around when Chad got a flat and we got cold standing around waiting for him. Yep. And we also managed to survive eminent doom and other unspeakable harm despite the fact that we were on the Certain Death trail in the dark with lights off. And 36 in the dark on the shoulder with lights. That was, um, fun. Surreal for sure.

I got out on the cross bike again today. There's still a lot of snow on Old South. And Hall Ranch? I rode thru the parking lot today around 10am. Don't even think about riding there. It's a muddy mess.

Not far out of town I decided to take a break on the St Vrain. Looking down on the water was awesome. It's good to see it so clear right now. I can't wait for the runoff to come full swing to muddy up the scene.

Twas a good ride today. I even had the opportunity to take off my earwarmer/headband today. Spring must be on the way!

Oh, and today was a beautiful day of another type. Lewis's bike turned out great!

And if you've read down this far... The Tuesday ride this week will be on Wednesday. Let's meet up late and pray that something has dried out. 6:30p on Wed?

steamboat dual slalom bike race

I was in Steamboat skiing last weekend on a family vacation. The snow was crusty and icy and not a lot of fun. Luckily the Winter Fest was going on that week. I went out to dinner with the family, drank a few beers (sorry dopers suck), and headed back to the condo. Everyone was pretty tired and wanted to just chill out. I wanted to go out and hit the town and check out some of the events.

The Winter Fest has been going on in town for 95 years and still going strong. They have a high school band that plays with cross country skis on, horses towing skiers down the street, and other weird stuff. The best events are going on at Howlson Hill, a small resort right in town with a vert of about 1000'. The biggest event is the ski jumping. This is not the terrain park stuff, I mean the long distance stuff ( the record is 330').

I managed to miss all the jumping events and did not want to miss the next event. This was the dual slalom snow bike race. This was happening right after dinner when the tired family wanted to just hang out. I couldn't stay cooped up while this was going on and decided to try and convince somebody to walk to the race with me. I got no takers and left the condo by myself. I brought 3 cans of Dales and an Ipod. I was walking to the race jamming to some killer old school Public Enemy and Rage Against the Machine when the course came into view. They had the lights on and people were screaming for the racers. The course had about 12 gates and two jumps. Riders were falling all over the place, on about every other turn, and I thought this would be a good race to show up to and easily win. After about 1/2 hour of watching I noticed the skill level was improving. I saw two racers going head to head battling it out when one falls down. The other rider saw this and decided to showboat across the finish line. He stood up on his bike with one foot on the seat and one on the bars, and raised his hands in victory reaching to the sky. This is all while riding on the snow. This got the crowd going. Definitely a great event to go see. I forgot to bring my camera, so the photos here were taken with my phone. These are the only ones that came out. The first is of a tire one of the racers was using. It had 2" screws sticking out every inch. The other photo is of the winner, I never did get his name.

Thursday Special 2/15

Happy post Valentine's. How does 185mm sound? Avid Juicy 7 Carbon 185mm brake - front or rear, $170 each? Email me dave@redtsonecyclery.com for more juicy info.

Fred's Turner Flux

This '06 Turner Flux turned out to be a real beauty. Size large, 26.75lbs without pedals. Nice. It'll be sad to see it go.